Hazardous Duty (Presidential Agent 8)

“Supervising the design and construction of the Clendennen presidential library,” Aloysius Casey said.

“The Joshua Ezekiel and Belinda-Sue Clendennen Presidential Library and Last Resting Place,” Annapolis corrected him.

“Sweaty, I love you,” Charley said.

“I figure we start off with initial anonymous contributions of ten million dollars,” Casey said.

“Where are you going to get ten million dollars?” Annapolis said.

“Well, I’ll throw in a million,” Casey said. “It’s worth that much to me to keep Delta Force from having to wear skirts. The rest we get a million a pop from other public-minded citizens like an insurance tycoon I know.”

“I’m in,” Radio & TV Stations said.

“Me, too,” Hotelier said.

“The other people in Las Vegas will, I’m sure, be willing to contribute to such a noble cause,” Annapolis said. “But I have to ask, isn’t the President going to be suspicious that this suddenly popped up? You said he was paranoid, that he even suspected Secretary Cohen wasn’t really playing golf when she went to the Greenbrier.”

Castillo took out his CaseyBerry and punched the ON button. When the green LEDs glowed, he punched the loudspeaker and one of the autodial buttons.

“Charley, thank God!” Secretary Cohen’s voice bounced back from space.

“Good morning, Madam Secretary.”

“I’ve been trying to get you for hours!”

“Sorry. My CaseyBerry was turned off. I just turned it on a moment ago.”

“Why did you turn it off?”

“Truth to tell, I didn’t. I guess one of the jailers turned it off when they took my personal property from me.”

“Jailers? What jailers?”

“The ones at the Clark County Detention Center.”

“Clark County, Nevada?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“So you are in Las Vegas with Roscoe J. Danton?”

“Who told you I was?”

“What were you doing in the Las Vegas jail?”

“It was a misunderstanding. We were released two hours ago.” He paused and then asked, “Who told you I was out here?”

“President Clendennen told me. The First Lady told the President and he told me.”

“How did she find out?”

“Does it matter?”

“I’m a little curious, that’s all.”

“The First Lady was watching television with the First Mother-in-Law, watching Hockey Puck with Matthew Christian, and there was Roscoe in a brawl with a porn queen.”

“Actually, it wasn’t a porn queen in that brawl. It was my fiancée, Mrs. Alekseeva, not Red Ravisher.”